The Supreme Court on Monday deferred hearing on a plea filed by Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar seeking the exclusion of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan from a panel tasked with recommending vice chancellors (VCs) for two state universities, deciding instead to await a report from former apex court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia.
The matter was mentioned by Attorney General R Venkataramani before a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan. The top law officer pressed for urgent hearing, warning that questions over who held the authority to appoint vice chancellors could complicate matters once the committee’s recommendations were made.
“I have a very small request. These applications should not be seen as obstructing any process of Justice Dhulia in this matter. But a subsequent order passed by another bench has restored the Chancellor as the appointing authority,” Venkataramani submitted, referring to developments in the West Bengal Governor–VCs dispute where a bench led by Justice Surya Kant appointed former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit as mediator.
The bench, however, pointed to the pending report of Justice Dhulia. “Should we not wait for the report of Justice Dhulia?” Justice Pardiwala asked. The judges noted that only after the findings were submitted could the Court take a “holistic view” of the matter. “Let the report come. We will work out the modalities… the day it comes, we will look into the report and the modified order,” the bench observed, deferring the matter.
The Kerala Governor, who is also the Chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and Kerala Digital University, had moved the Supreme Court challenging the inclusion of the chief minister in the VC selection panel.
The plea argued that neither the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University Act nor the Kerala Digital University Act envisioned any role for the state government or higher education minister in the selection process. By contrast, the Governor noted, the Calcutta University Act, 1979 explicitly provided for a ministerial role, which is why the apex court, in State of West Bengal v. Dr Sanat Kumar Ghosh and Others, permitted the chief minister’s inclusion there.
The Governor maintained that importing the West Bengal model into Kerala, where the statutes differ, was “arbitrary” and contrary to University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations. These regulations prohibit individuals with direct executive control over affiliated colleges from participating in the appointment of vice chancellors to avoid conflict of interest.
“The Chief Minister being the Executive Head of the State is connected with a number of government colleges managed by the government and affiliated to the university. Therefore, as per UGC Regulations he cannot have any role whatsoever in the appointment of vice chancellors,” the plea submitted.
While clarifying that he had “no objection” to Justice Dhulia chairing the selection committee, the Governor urged the Supreme Court to modify its August 18 order to exclude the chief minister’s participation and bar nominees suggested by the state government. The application stressed that allowing the CM’s involvement would violate the principle against a person being a judge in their own cause.
The Supreme Court will now take up the matter after Justice Dhulia submits his report on the ongoing selection process.
